Cosmetic Industry

The cosmetic industry is perhaps one of the biggest and fastest growing industries in America. Since the beginning of the 20th century, there have been a few very big players in the production of makeup and other cosmetic items. These billion dollar companies such as L’Oreal, Procter and Gamble, Avon, and Estee Lauder now make up more than 24 percent of all cosmetic sales across the world. The latest study in 2015 said that the United States has the biggest and most valuable beauty care market in the entire world. On average, this industry produces about 80 billion dollars’ worth of goods per year, and is growing with each passing year.

To take this one step further, the Bureau of Labor Statistics cites that there are about one and a half million people employed in this industry. When the BLS was making this statistic, it only counted people who perform services such as barbers, massage therapists, manicurists, and skincare specialists. It does not count the extra tens of thousands of people who work at beauty stores and sell beauty products.

Online sales are also contributing to the rise in beauty product demand. We see this by looking at the online sales statistics for companies like Sephora. In 2015, Sephora reported that more than 5.1 million products were ordered online, and that is in the United States alone. If we take into consideration international sales and sales in stores, the numbers are outstanding.

Another super interesting thing that the cosmetic industry has coined is online marketing. Another recent survey concluded that more than 95 percent of people look up YouTube videos when searching for a new product. Now, we looked at these YouTubers and they are clearly sponsored by products and are paid to endorse them. This is incredible. With the new age of technology, we have to take reviews with a grain of salt because we no longer know if they genuinely like the product, or are just interested in the money they are making from these deals. The Cosmetic Industry spends more than any other American based industry on marketing at an astonishing three billion dollars a year. This money goes to popular YouTubers, commercials, billboards, and other kinds of marketing techniques like makeup conventions and beauty schools. The Beauty Industry has revolutionized what it means to successfully market and brand a company, and it is something that will continue to grow.

When the industry first started booming, it was almost exclusively targeted towards women. However, men’s services has been increasing and this is most definitely a reason why the market for cosmetics is expanding. Men’s products such as barbershops, lotion, and other sorts of creams have been a product for the new aging population. New companies like Boardroom Salon have branded themselves as places that men can go for not only a professional haircut, but for skin and hair products as well. It was reported in a recent survey that about 25 percent of men use some sort of facial product, but I suspect this number will rise as the newer generation continues to age.